Handwriting expert evidence in cheque dishonour cases may be refused when it adds no real defence value.

In a cheque dishonour prosecution, the Magistrate's discretion under Section 254(2) CrPC to summon defence evidence must be used to ensure fairness, but it is not unlimited. Where the cheque was admitted to be signed by the accused and the surrounding facts supported issuance by him, a request to send the cheque and acknowledgment card for handwriting expert opinion could be refused if the proposed examination would not materially assist the defence or rebut the statutory presumptions under the Negotiable Instruments Act. The refusal was held proper because the evidence sought would only delay the trial without adding real probative value.

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Issues: Whether the Magistrate was justified in refusing the accused's request to send the cheque and acknowledgment card for handwriting expert opinion under Section 254(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 in a prosecution under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

Analysis: Section 254(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 confers a discretion on the Magistrate to summon evidence for the defence, but that discretion is not unfettered. It must be exercised to secure a fair opportunity to the accused while preventing avoidable delay or irrelevant exercise. In a cheque dishonour prosecution, where the cheques were admitted to be signed by the accused and the surrounding facts showed that they were issued by him, the mere contention that the body of the cheque was not written by him, or that the acknowledgment card bore a disputed signature, would not necessarily displace the statutory presumption available to the complainant. The requested handwriting examination would not materially advance the defence and would only prolong the proceedings.

Conclusion: The refusal to send the cheque and acknowledgment card to the handwriting expert was proper and legal, and the accused was not entitled to the relief sought.

Ratio Decidendi: In a cheque dishonour case, the Magistrate may refuse a request for handwriting expert examination under Section 254(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 where the proposed evidence would be of no real assistance to the defence and would not rebut the statutory presumptions arising from an admitted signed cheque and its issuance.

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